VBS 2009 is over, finito, history. What remains are sweet memories -- especially of sweet little girls like this:
On the last evening of VBS, we gave away some of our stage decorations, including two new bicycles and a large stuffed dog and cardboard doghouse (not pictured due to pending legal patent issues). The white globs you see in the sky are not ghosts or chicken nuggets without the crispy coating. They are lovely, lumpy, floating clouds. There is even a football sailing through the air. We're all about promoting a healthy, active lifestyle.

Program time! Parents, friends, and family members were invited to attend a short program on Friday evening. Classes presented memory verses, skits, and songs. They did a great job!

The oldest class -- a little more stage-shy -- but nonetheless wonderful contributors to the program!
Yesterday, we rounded up these folks and hauled 'em to Picacho for a week at Youth Haven Ranch. They are really more excited than they appear. It's just that this photo shoot delayed the real fun from beginning -- hopping into the pool for the customary swim test following registration. Plus, it was only around 105 degrees outside. We also took along one teen LIT (leader-in-training), but he thought he was too cool to get his picture taken.

Some Mo' Fotos

Darrell taught the 11-&-12-year-old class this week.

We hired this model to display our yummy popcorn butterfly snack. Every VBS needs a certified snack tracker, and yesterday evening, our model precisely recited every snack we have had to date. Impressive, no?

The lovely Jo with some lovely ladies

Wally taught the 6-&-7-year-old class.

Of Buses and Bruises

Nine nights down, one to go!

We like to advertise ourselves as a safe haven for kids, but yesterday evening seemed to be a get-hurt kind of night. Even before the Opening Assembly, a little girl had a toe ouchy, and she howled through the cleaning of the toe and the applying of salve and a bandage. Fortunately, the pain lessened, and she was all smiles by the end of class.

Then, as the bus was preparing to depart the premises, the real fun began. Don't you know that the real fun happens on the bus, where the fragrance of multiple sweaty bodies wafts sweetly through the 101-degree air, where it is super-duper fun if you ignore repeated pleas to please remain in your seat while this aircraft is in motion, where it is even more fun if you get one of the broken seats so you can practice your monkey moves on the remaining frame, where it is hilariously fun if you can sneak your arm out the window far enough to latch onto some tree branches?

Of course, I was not describing our bus in the lines above. Noooo, sirree. Those other ministries have those kinds of buses, but NOT US!

Those other ministries probably have children on their buses who might attempt to choke another child, or hit another child, or have screaming contests, or say a bad word, or say many bad words, or say many, many bad words. How I feel sorry for them. It must be awful.

The invitation is open.

Tonight.
Phoenix.
13th Street & Roosevelt.
Your choice of a 5:00 p.m. departure or an 8:00 p.m. departure.
Beverage service not included.

The bus ride of your life awaits.

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"I have not come to invite good people. I have come to invite sinners to change their hearts and lives!" - JESUS (Luke 5:32)

He makes it all worth it.

More Glimpses of VBS

Ro's class of 9-year-old's:

A re-enactment of The Good Samaritan story:

This young sheep cowboy had a not-very-good, yucky, not-fun day when those thugs ran away with his hat and bandanna and beat him to the ground (Note: That would be a sucker in his mouth, not a cigarette. He is a non-smoking cowboy).

Brittany's class of 4-&-5-year-old's
Can you find the lonely boy?

David & Jo's balcony classroom of 10-year-old's:

We like our pudding with worms and dirt on top.

"I'm inright, outright, upright, downright..." with Strickland:

VBS in Pictures

VBS typically begins with an hour-long bus route. Here is Wally gathering a group of siblings to get on the bus:

This 5-year-old had been waiting "ALL day" for the bus to come get her. She also told me that she would like to sing "Feliz Navidad" during the music session. I forget if that was before or after she complained about the heat on the bus. Maybe children that live in Phoenix tend to get their seasons all mixed up. Of course, how would they even know what a season is?

This gal was serious about learning her memory verse. She brought a Bible on the bus with her and diligently studied the passage throughout much of the ride.

These two brothers are cute as a button. I didn't get a photo of their older siblings who were also riding the bus and sporting wet-looking hair, but I observed that a portion of their parents' income is surely allotted to (a) taxes and (b) the buying of hair gel. That do is s-t-i-f-f.

VBS snack tonight was....
POPSICLES!

Craft time in class:

Memory verse mix-up. The boys beat the girls.

Singing with Strick in the basement:

Phoenix had an intriguing sky this evening as we wrapped up VBS with some games outside.

The Cowboy Class

Seven days down, three to go!

VBS week #2 kicked off yesterday evening. While there's not a doubt in my mind that last week's bunch would gladly hop on the bus for another round of VBS, it's our "other" bus route of children that have been invited to attend this week.

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In some last-minute decorating frenzy, my VBS room ended up with a Western-related theme. I usually plop a cowboy hat on my head for at least part of the class time. It's goofy, but it totally works when you're teaching 8 year old's. This is during the Bible story:

My great teaching assistant came up with the idea that good behavior be rewarded with a seat in The Chair, along with The Wearing of the Cowboy Hat. Again, it's totally worked for this age group. For what it's worth, bubble gum is quite effective, too.

As class time was winding down one evening last week, a soft-spoken student shyly asked me if she could borrow a Bible to take home. She followed me downstairs to the storage closet and gratefully accepted the Bible that was given to her.

If I were a teacher in the traditional sense, I suppose I would want, more than anything, to pass along to my students a competence and love for reading. As a teacher of the Bible and a believer in the life-changing message within its pages, I think one of the greatest delights is to see a student develop a passion for reading the Word.

The One who says "Seek Me, and you will find Me when you seek for Me with all your heart," is the centerpiece of that inspired text, and what better way to find out who He is, than reading what He has written?

Three days down, seven to go.

Vacation Bible School week #1 is nearly over.

(Is it wrong to say, "Thank You, Jesus"?)

Seriously, it has been a lot of fun, just in a tiring, energy-expending kind of way! It really is a privilege to be able to share Jesus with these kids, especially when you realize that even the simplest of Bible stories are often unfamiliar to them.

This week, our bus route has been in the Projects area, which is a large government housing complex. With an attendance of 69 children yesterday evening, the bus was rather full. Here are a few sardines excitedly making their escape to enter the church--and no, this is not a timed race:

And one of the beautiful faces of VBS:

Opening assembly:

Snack time -- dirt pudding with a gummy worm!

A highlight of each evening -- music time with Keith & Emily. They LOVE to sing and dance and clap!

My class of 8-year-old's playing a game I remember enjoying in VBS umpteen years ago (called Flying Dutchman, I think)

Since we don't have any youth groups assisting us this year, several volunteers from City of Grace have joined us this week to serve as classroom helpers. They have been incredible! Not only are many of them sacrificing time away from their families, they're also driving in from far-off lands like Gilbert, Mesa, and Sun City. What a blessing!

All the other staff (mostly interns or former interns) are just golden, too. They are carrying out the main teaching responsibilities and doing such a great job of it that kids keep coming back for more each evening--and inviting their friends to come, too.

Scorpion

Have you ever played "Scorpion"?

I was introduced to the game while on the bus as we picked up kids for VBS. After one too many rounds of thumb war, peek-a-choo, and paper-rock-scissors, a 6-year-old boy challenged me to "Scorpion." He grasped one of my hands in a tight grip and then told me we were both supposed to dig our fingernails into the other person's hand until someone gave up and said "Scorpion." I had mercy on the little guy and applied very little pressure to his hand, while he did quite the opposite to me. Despite his exertion, he failed to inflict much pain, so I pretended I couldn't handle it and cried "Scorpion!" The proud winner then informed me that he doesn't even have long fingernails, and he's still good at beating people at that game.

Don't you just love kids?

There have certainly been plenty of them to love on (or bear patiently with!) this week, as our first week of VBS is underway.

Happy Comprehending

The campers are home again!

Here's a sneak peek at the thank you letters some of them composed. Perhaps I should note that their style of spelling has been retained for your reading pleasure. Happy comprehending!

Thank you Youth Haven Ranch. You are cool. And thank you for leating me and my friends go to Youth Haven Ranch.

At Youth Heaven it was asome. Because of church.

Thank you for tacking cear of me. Thank you for the good food and toys I will mease you I will weat for you to reat me back

You are cool. Thank you for all that you done for us. For all fun Youth Heaven Raunch

Theincs for being rilly nais to llet us go camping in your propord. [smiley face] Senssirly [child's name]

Thank you for being so nice to us (LITs and kids). It was so fun to go back to Youth Haven. The food was awesome and the team leaders were great! Say hi to all the team leaders for me plz. Love you guys. Thank you again.

Big Surf 2009

Yesterday, Aim Right's Team FUN group spent the day at Big Surf. It was their grand finale reward for learning about these character qualities over a period of 9 months:

C- Christ-like Character
H- Honesty
A- Attitude
R- Respect
A- Ambition
C- Caring
T- Trustworthy
E- Excellence
R- Responsibility

The curriculum outline and the quarterly reward outings were coordinated by Kurt Warner's First Things First Foundation. Usually, Kurt and his wife will join our group at the water park, but they chose to attend a March Madness game with us instead (go figure).

Here is the group, ready for sunburns and splashing:

A pizza lunch was prepared for us:

Then, it was off to the wave pool and the water slides. There is a serious lack of photos to document this portion of the day because (a) I'm not a very good photographer, and I photographed more spray than I did people, and (b) THE REAL REASON: I was tearin' it up myself on those water slides. Someone had to show the kids how it's done.

Yee-Haw!!!

Fruitcake & Ice Cream and a Great Run-on Sentence

I am a fan of ice cream. Fruitcake? Not so much. The Louie Giglio DVD our teen Bible study groups watched yesterday evening is titled "Fruitcake and Ice Cream." You'll need to watch it to learn why it's titled as it is, but the theme is really about grace.

Louie defines grace as "God at work," since the opposite of grace is "me at work." He unpacks grace in the context of the great transaction that occurred at the Cross -- the sinless One bearing the sins of the world. He says of grace: "When you get it, it will get you." This grace begins to define who you are and what you do.

Louie then goes on to unpack this verse, in the framework of grace and the desire for others to experience that grace, too:

“If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.” 2 Corinthians 5:13

Now--are you ready for a whopping run-on sentence? This is Louie talking:

"Basically, this stuff is so wild that it just makes us want to flip out all the time, but we don’t flip out all the time because we know if we went crazy all the time, it would drive the people who don’t get it yet crazy, and we don’t want to drive them crazy, we want them to get it, so to get them to get it, every now and then we gotta get in our right mind and talk about gardening or soccer or football or Nascar racing or stock trading so that we can be in our right mind with them so that they can figure out what we got, and it made us go crazy every now and then so that then they would get it, and then they could go crazy also, but we don’t want to freak ‘em out, so we gotta be in our right mind sometimes so that they can understand that there’s something that every now and then makes us get out of our right mind and go into our crazy mind, but we want them to go crazy like we’ve gone crazy, so we have to be in our right mind occasionally and not always be in our crazy mind, and he [Paul] was livin’ in that tension, and I love livin’ in that tension."

[Note: Have you ever seen a more beautiful period than the one that just appeared? Back to Louie...]

"If nobody lives in that tension, it’s just me, and it’s free and you can do what you want to with it, but I just say a big, fat, 'You haven’t gotten it yet if you don’t live in that tension.' "

Are you living in that tension?

Youth Haven

This morning, Strickland and I took a van load of campers to the Youth Haven Ranch in Picacho, AZ, about an hour's drive from Phoenix. It has to be one of the most non-scenic drives in Arizona.
After 183 chants of "Are we there yet?" we arrived -- and yep, I made them pose for a photo right away.

This next little gal is in her element. Ever since she attended camp last summer, she has been asking to go again. Kids just love, love, love Youth Haven, and because they have such a phenomenal (and free) camping program, we love taking them there!

We also took two teenagers along who will be serving as LITs (leaders-in-training) this week. They have both been at the Ranch in the past, as campers, and jumped at the opportunity to go back and give back. I believe this smiley-faced dude even accepted Christ while attending Youth Haven Ranch:

Wearing the badge with pride:
On Friday, we will return to Picacho to fetch the Ranchers. From prior experience, I know that:
a. they will have more luggage than they came with (Youth Haven likes to give stuff away)
b. they will be so proud of their certificates (Each camper receives a certificate with a creative, uplifting description of the individual -- such as "Camper Who Smiles the Most")
c. they will crash on the trip home (Don't you know that having fun is hard work?)
d. they will have spent a week with people who love Jesus and love sharing Him with kids (That's what makes Youth Haven so special).

I Don't Like What I Discovered

It all began like this.

I purchased a book at a thrift store last weekend. By a noted Christian psychologist, it addresses the topic of a father's influence on a daughter. It's a topic that interests me more for ministry-related reasons than personal reasons. I know too many girls without dads.

Since I'm as particular about writing style as I am about content, after reading a chapter or two, I just wasn't engaged anymore. The topic, however, was still something I wanted to explore, but not necessarily from a Christian vantage point.

I don't like what I discovered.

In seeking to answer the question, "How is a daughter affected by an absent father?" by far, the most widely-referenced study was a 2003 report by researchers who studied almost 800 girls in New Zealand and the United States, tracking them from early in life until 18 years old.

The following is an excerpt of the findings (bold is my emphasis):

The study looked at whether father absence placed daughters at special risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy. The U.S. and New Zealand have the first and second highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Western industrialized countries, with about 10% of girls in the US and 7% of girls in New Zealand between the ages of 15 and 19 becoming pregnant each year. Dr Ellis said the study revealed that the absence of the biological father from the home was an over-riding risk factor for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy, and the earlier father absence occurred the greater the risk. For example, rates of teenage pregnancy increased from about 1-in-20 among father-present girls to 1-in-3 among early father-absent girls in the US sample and from about 1-in-30 among father-present girls to 1-in-4 among early father-absent girls in the New Zealand sample. (Early father absence was defined as the first five years of life.) Father absence emerged as a major pathway to risky sexual behaviour, even for girls who came from otherwise socially and economically privileged homes. “Father absence was so fundamentally linked to teenage pregnancy that its effects were largely undiminished by such factors as whether girls were rich or poor, black or white, New Zealand Maori or European, cooperative or defiant in temperament, born to adult or teenage mothers, raised in safe or violent neighbourhoods, subjected to few or many stressful life events, reared by supportive or rejecting parents, exposed to functional or dysfunctional marriages, or closely or loosely monitored by parents,” Ellis said.

With this information fresh on my brain, I decided to take a look at teenage pregnancy in the U.S.

I don't like what I discovered.

Again, no "Christian" data for this one, either. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) provides a wealth of detailed, reliable information, and it's easily accessible online. From a press release issued by the CDC on May 13, 2009, it is also apparent that this is a problem that affects the global community. Here are a few excerpts (and again, the emphasis is mine):

• The proportion of births to unmarried mothers in the United States has risen steeply over the past few decades, consistent with patterns in other countries.

• In March, CDC reported that about 4 in 10 births in the United States in 2007 were to unmarried mothers.

• The trend in unmarried childbearing was fairly stable from the mid-1990s to 2002, but has shown a steep increase between 2002 and 2007. Between 1980 and 2007, the proportion of births to unmarried women in the United States has more than doubled, from 18 percent to 40 percent."

• Birth rates among unmarried mothers are highest for Hispanic women (106 births per 1,000 unmarried Hispanic women).

• The overwhelming majority of births to teenagers are non-marital. Among teens aged 15-17, 93 percent of births were non-marital in 2007.

This is a problem, because not only is there a steeply rising teenage pregnancy rate, there is an overwhelmingly increased rate of births to unmarried women in general--especially women in their early 20s. In my non-expert opinion, it appears that there is an unprecedented number of children being born without a father present (at least within the context of a marriage commitment).

This article seems to validate that opinion:
Changing Patterns of Non-marital Childbearing in the United States

As if that isn't enough information to chew upon, let me switch gears. What about all of those girls who "didn't get caught"? They are no less sexually active than those who happened to bear a child, but they may have chosen to abort the child instead. And, then, what about the number of women who reportedly have sexually transmitted diseases?

I don't like what I discovered.

Let's begin with abortion.

Again, the CDC is my source, but I'm dealing with a 2005 report. The number of legally performed abortions in the U.S. peaked in 1990 at 1.4+ million. Since that time, numbers have continued to decrease or level off. Interestingly, in 2005, the number of legally performed abortions totaled 820,151 -- the lowest in the U.S. since 1974. It appears some progress is being made, although I would rather have seen that number decrease by about 820,151.

Equally as interesting is what has not changed from 1973 until 2005 -- the percentage of women receiving abortions who are unmarried. Quite consistently, around 80 percent of the women who receive an abortion are not married.

This statistic seriously disturbed me: in 2005, only 53.5% of the women who had an abortion had not previously had another abortion procedure. That indicates that approximately half of the women seeking abortion as a solution have sadly gone that route before.

Please allow me to re-cap, briefly:

1. Girls who grow up without the influence of a dad are more likely (at-risk) to become pregnant as teenagers.
2. A teen who becomes pregnant is typically unmarried.
3. The unmarried (vs. married) girl or woman is more likely to consider abortion an option.
4. Multiple abortions are not uncommon.

As an aside, I will note that there has been a shift in the past few years, regarding the ages of women who seek an abortion. In 2005, women ages 25 years or older obtained a record 50.1 percent of legal abortions. Abortion is becoming more utilized by those in their career years than those in adolescent years, although historically, it has always shifted in that direction.

But...moving on, since I still haven't gotten to STDs.

I don't like what I discovered.

From a January 2009 CDC report highlighting 2007 data (emphasis is mine):

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain a major public health challenge in the United States. CDC estimates that approximately 19 million new infections occur each year -- almost half of them among young people 15 to 24 years of age. Chlamydia remains the most commonly reported disease in the United States. In 2007, 1,108,374 chlamydia diagnoses were reported, up from 1,030,911 in 2006. The 2007 total represents the largest number of cases ever reported to CDC for any condition. Even so, most chlamydia cases still go undiagnosed. CDC estimates that there are approximately 2.8 million new cases of chlamydia in the United States each year, indicating that more than half of new cases remain undiagnosed and unreported.

Did you get that?!? CDC essentially says, "Here are the numbers we definitely know about, but wait....we're pretty sure that's not very accurate because that number is way too low -- by about, say, 1.7 million or so."

Yikes.

I don't like what I've discovered.

Not at all.

You see, I know too many girls without dads. I know that the odds are not in their favor. It isn't the norm for these kind of girls to remain pure throughout their teenage years, to develop an emotional constitution that is stable and secure, to have the fortitude to end a cycle that likely began before their birth.

It's enough to scare the living daylights out of me (whatever that is), were it not that I believe in the power of God to restore and heal and change lives, that I believe that the Word is not antiquated but alive, that I believe in hope, that I believe that God is a father to the fatherless.

At Aim Right, we have been so blessed with a number of interns and volunteers who have a heart for at-risk girls, and it has been an incredible privilege to be a part of that team. Through the years, at various times and in blended fashion, our weekly Bible study group has consisted of teenage mothers, sexually active teens, expectant girls, and those who are choosing abstinence.

I want to briefly mention an observation that the church at-large has often been guilty of heightening the shame--unnecessarily, in my opinion--of teenage pregnancy, while those who continue in promiscuity without "getting caught" are let off the hook. Grace and forgiveness need to be infused into those situations, and with good measure.

Similarly, let's teach girls a holistic message of purity that certainly covers physical, romantic expression, but also extends far beyond it. Purity is so much more than restraint; it is intentionally pursuing that which is pure and noble and good and holy in every facet of life. It is not being perfect, but it is running to the Father of grace when we've messed up again.

I still don't like what I've discovered.

I still know too many girls without dads.

But I still believe in the power of God to restore.

And, therefore, I still have hope.